Decision

Decision
In coming to our decision we have considered the Code of Practice
under s24 of the Gambling Act 2005, the relevant s25 Guidance
issued by the Gambling Commission, and believe this decision is
reasonably consistent with the s1 licensing objectives and the s349
HBC Statement of Licensing Principles (Gambling Policy) 2023-2026
and relevant case law.
 
Our decision is to grant the application for a
bingo premises licence subject to the following conditions:-

-               
Those conditions offered by the Applicant at pg 21 and 22 to the supplementary agenda

-               
Any mandatory conditions

-               
And the following additional conditions (where these are
inconsistent with those conditions offered by the applicant the
following shall prevail).
 
Opening times and manning

-               
Opening time to be 9am-Midnight

-               
Double manning as a minimum at all times
the premises is open.
 
Customer Interaction: Recording, Review and
Training

-               
The premises licence holder must operate and maintain an electronic
log of all premises-based customer interactions carried out
pursuant to SR Code 3.4.1. Each entry must, at a minimum, record:
date/time, staff member, reason/indicator(s) for the interaction,
actions/tools offered (e.g. time-outs, limits, self-exclusion),
outcome/decision, and any required follow-up.

-               
A shift handover note must be completed on every shift, confirming
that the electronic log has been reviewed and identifying any
customers requiring follow-up or enhanced monitoring on the next
shift.

-               
The Premises Manager (or deputy) must review all new interaction
entries within 24 hours and record any feedback/escalation. An
Area/Cluster Manager must audit a sample of entries at least
monthly and record their findings and any actions taken.

-               
Where the electronic system is unavailable, a paper fallback must
be used and transcribed to the electronic log within 24 hours of
restoration.

-               
Training: No staff member may work unsupervised until they have
completed training covering SR Code 3.4.1 and the use of the
interaction log; refresher training at least every 6 months.
Training records must be kept for 24 months.

-               
All interaction logs, handover notes, reviews and audits must be
retained for not less than 12 months and be produced to the
licensing authority or police on request within 24 hours.
 
Facial recognition/ID

-               
The Applicant to ensure:-
(a) there is a facial recognition camera on
the entrance to the premises that is capable of
capturing all
entrants to the premises for the purposes of
identification, and that
(b) all customers not previously identified by
the facial recognition system should be required to provide valid
identification to enable a valid check against any self-exclusion
database and for the purposes of protecting vulnerable
customers.
 
Presentation compliant with HBC Policy

-               
The premises must be presented and advertised as a bingo premises.
The main entrance frontage and any digital/window media visible
from outside must display “Bingo” (or “Bingo
played here”) no less prominently than any reference to
gaming machines/“slots” at
the relevant location to the satisfaction of HBC Licensing.
 
Priory Meadows Security

-               
Within 28 days of the licence taking effect, the licence holder
must:
(a) nominate a member of staff as the
premises’ contact for town-centre security and notify HBC
Licensing and HBC BID of their details;
(b) ensure the nominated staff member attends
relevant Priory Meadow Security meetings/briefings (or any
successor scheme) and acts as the point of contact;
(c) when open and where operational, maintain
live contact via the approved town-centre radio system or other
authorised channel;
(d) share relevant incident summaries with HBC
Licensing/HBC BID on request, in accordance with data-protection
law; and
(e) keep records of attendance, radio
participation, and information shared for 12 months, and produce
them on request to HBC Licensing.
 
Surrender Extant licence
-         
to surrender the license to 40-41 Queens Rd prior to when the
premises to this application proposes to commence trading.
This decision and reasons in support to follow
within 5 working days.
The parties to this application are entitled
to appeal within 21 days of receiving the decision and reasons.